It’s Hard to Become a Non-Citizen, Too

As eager as many are to claim U.S. citizenship, there are also those who are just as eager to shed it. But the State Department doesn’t make it easy to renounce, apparently.

In 2009, Kenneth Fox, a Jewish American by birth who has lived in Israel and been a citizen of that country for over a decade, sought what’s known as a Certificate of Loss of Nationality — a piece of paper declaring him free and clear of the fetters (some would say privileges, but that’s neither here nor there) of U.S. citizenship.

The State Department rejected Mr. Fox’s request, finding that he didn’t satisfy the requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.

Mr. Fox obtained his Israeli citizenship via the “Law of Return,” which says that every Jew has the right to come to the country and stay.

He applied for permanent residence, but the State Department said that wasn’t enough. Mr. Fox also had to apply for naturalization, but he hadn’t done so — because he automatically obtained it through the Law of Return, the State Department said.

Mr. Fox eventually sued to get his certificate in federal district court in Washington. He lost and then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. A three-judge panel, in this ruling Tuesday, appeared mystified by the State Department’s refusal to let Mr. Fox renounce. . .